Shuttle Facts
- A space shuttle weight about 4.5 million pounds, about 81% of this is fuel.
- A shuttle uses the two SRB's (Solid Rocket Boosters), and an external fuel tank which are jettisoned after they burn out (2 minutes into launch)
- The external fuel tank is released 8 minutes after launch
- The SRB's account for 71% of the shuttles thrust on liftoff.
- A typical shuttle mission last seven to eight days, but can last up to 14 days.
- A space shuttle costs approximately 2.1 billion dollars.
- Each launch cost approximately 450 million dollars.
- To date there have been 96 shuttle missions, and 802 day flight time accumulated my the fleet
- The shuttle can carry up to 56,000 pounds of payload, this is fairly small in comparison to the 4.5 million pound gross weight.
- The external tank is 47 meters long, (higher than a 15 story building)
- The shuttle has a wingspan of 23.79 meters.
- During re-entry, friction with the atmosphere causes the shuttle to heat up to about 3000 degrees Farenheit.
- Two shuttle, the Columbia, and the Challenger have been lost during flight.
